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New Facility Will Usher in Era of '21st Century Library Service' at Pikes Peak Library District

Monday, March 3, 2014

Stakeholders of Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) have spent more than five years developing a model of 21st century library service for the Pikes Peak region, but efforts will only start in earnest with the opening of the new library facility in June of this year. From that moment on, PPLD will begin to implement, replicate, and deploy its library service model for the future.

21st Century Library service is a movement at PPLD, one that employs technology and the redeployment of people to propel libraries to the center of community life. They become places where content is created and shared, and where books and other resources are linked with programs and activities. It is a movement that will affect every library in and every aspect of the district.

Central to the new model and the renewed space is the most basic of library tenets: providing access to information. Fine tuned to meet the needs of 21st century patrons, PPLD will provide exactly what the patron needs, in the format they desire, at the very moment it will benefit them most: aka “speed sourcing” for the 21st Century.

PPLD’s new library facility, located at 1175 Chapel Hills Drive and slated to open in June, is the prototype and “launch pad” for 21st century library service. Its state-of-the-art spaces and resources will make it the first of its kind in the country.

As work began on selecting a name for the new facility, several considerations came into play: this is a modern facility that will serve our entire service region and beyond; it’s a model and a resource that will move everyone forward; it’s the library of our shared future. The 21st Century Library needs a name that says just that.

With all of this in mind, PPLD will name its new facility Library 21c.

It is a simple, compelling name that invites curiosity and that suits the services and spaces the building will contain: Hot Spot, eHelp, Make, Hub. It suits the mission it will fulfill: to announce that libraries are new and innovative.

Some of the spaces and resources that fit especially well include The Venue at 21c and 21central, a portal for critical community information, and especially C3 the Creative Computer Commons.

Library 21c, approved by PPLD’s Board of Trustees in late February, also reflects the transition going on in library resources from the traditional to the virtual, and beyond, to the concept of creating and co-creating. PPLD wants the community to recognize the shift in public libraries – and to value that change.

Work on the new facility and East and Penrose libraries continues. Information on the project and ways to support it can be found online at ppld.org/21centurylibrary.

Leaders at PPLD find the “c” component edgy and flexible, “c” for century; “c” for change; “c” for connections; “c” for create; “c” for community. Programs, partnerships, and new services will build on the name in creative and appealing ways, such as PPLD’s 21catalyst: Crowdsourcing for Entrepreneurs and Nonprofits, and 21cents: The Campaign to Grow Young Philanthropists.

“We see this as our opportunity to take the edge and make it our own. The community has C4C [City for Champions]. There is a push to think differently, act in new ways, and create change,” said Paula Miller, PPLD’s Executive Director. “Library 21c is our addition to that movement. Think: 21c – your 21st century library. We’ve given the region over a hundred years of excellence … Library 21c lets us declare the next century of extraordinary public library service.”

Disclaimer:
PPLD is not responsible for nor does it endorse the content of non-PPLD websites, programs, and events. Users should use critical judgment in relying on information found in these resources and determine what information is appropriate to their needs.